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King Vilarius Almarus
Early Life: 665- 677 C.E. Born in 665 C.E. to Cederian Almarus-Almark and Anoris Almark, he was the first and only child of the two nobles as Anoris Almark died while giving birth. Many Alamrians beleived this to be the first sign of a strong leader due to similar occuriances with Ulfidren, Astarielle, and Nieantis Almarus, while Arterians and other Ionians believed this to be a sign of a weak and cursed child. During the first years of his life, Vilarius underwent harsh training and education like all future rulers of the Eastern Fold did. He found interest in many things, often being found in the Grand Arcanium of Ulfidren pouring over books, tomes, and notes or sparring with trainers. Unlike many past rulers of the Eastern Fold who left the capitol mostly in times of war and distress, Vilarius showed great interest in his lands and its people and often left the capitol with a caravan of guards and teachers so his education could continue. Visiting every major city within the Eastern Fold and numerous pilgrimige sights belonging to the Temple of Nevrikerin, Vilarius earned the respect of the people as he often imbued himself in local policies and giving what he could to the less fortunate. In 677 C.E., while traveling back to Ulfidren from Faroe, his caravan came under attack by one of the last tribes of the Mynar people, from a time before Ulfidren the Divine. Outnumbered and taking by surprise, most of the nromal guards and civilians where killed in the attack, but Vilarius and a handful of Knights of the White Lion killed or routed the remaining tribesmen. Having earned the respect of the Knights of the White Lion and having killed an enemy of the Almarians, Vilarius' father pushed him into early adulthood, sending him to train and study with the Knights of the White Lion deep in the Klivarse Mountains north of Ulfidren. Rise to Power: 677- 686 C.E. Already a well versed scholar and a deadly warrior, Vilarius' years with the Knights of the White Lions only strengthened him. At the age of 16, Vilarius' followed in the steps of Ulfidren Almarus and armed with only a small ceremonial dagger, killed two of the White Lions in The Rills. When he returned with not only two pelts, but also a cub, Vilarius earned the unshakable loyalty of the Knights of the White Lion who until this day had never been able to have a member other then Ulfidren Almarus who returned with two pelts. At 17, Vilarius finished his training and returned to Ulfidren to find his father ill and bedridden. Vilarius immeadietely began to run the Eastern Fold in his fathers stead. While nominally accepted by the Lords of the Eastern Fold, Lord Clauden Ravaris raised the flag of rebellion in an attempt to gain power. Expecting the young Lord to remain in Ulfidren and allow the rebellion to grow, Clauden was caught completely by surprise when Vilarius entered the Scorfields at the head of an army two weeks later. Its during this forced march on Clauden's stronghold of Tavith that Vilarius distinguished himself in battle as both a soldier and a commander. During the Battle of Tavith, Vilarius led the charge on foot alongside his lion and fellow Knights of the White Lion. The following battle elevated Vilarius to prestige few had seen in decades as people across Ios learned of the battle. During the fighting, Vilarius preferred to be wherever the fighting was heaviest, his halberd and sword skills surpassing the common soldiery. After two days of fighting, Vilarius personally burned the flag of House Ravaris which had flown above Tavith and raised the banner of House Almarus-Almark. He then spent the next two months hunting down the last of House Ravaris' loyal soldiers and personally slew Clauden Ravaris. Vilarius returned to Ulfidren in 686 C.E. to find his father had passed into the Divine. A procession was held the next day before the body was buried in the tombs beneath the Citadel of Ashes. Two days later, Vilarius took the title of High Lord of Ulfidren and head of House Almarus-Almark. High Lord of Ulfidren: 686 - 702 C.E. Hailed as a hero for ending the rebellion, Vilarius began his reign as High Lord with a reputation not seen for many years, his fury and victory at Tavith restoring much of the old faith of the past Kingdom of Almarus. He started his rule by restoring the oldest traditions of the military and restructuring the army, when the Faroeian Split occured, Vilarius chose not to intervene, seeing it as a chance for stronger leaders and soldiers to rise to serve the House in the future. In 686 C.E., Vilarius took Arana Amarath as his wife after years of admiration towards both her and her father. Within a year, Arana gave birth to a son, named Hendrikus Cederian Almarus-Almark, in honor of Vilarius' father. In the years leading up to the death of the King of Ios, Vilarius spent much of his time recreating his lands to better serve a military purpose in order to protect his people and serve the Kingdom. These were the most peaceful years of Vilarius' life as he raised his son alongside his wife until she died in 695 C.E. from a fever. Stricken with grief, Vilarius threw himself into ruling his lands and teaching his son. Upon the death of the king in 699 C.E., Vilarius sided with Lord Smetana of House Arnor to uphold House Almarus-Almark's promise of loyalty to the Kingdom. Late in 699 C.E., Vilarius passed the Protective Laws to ensure equality for the worshippers of Io within the ranks of the Church of Io who for years had been discriminated against, their beliefs viewed as disrespectful to Ulfidren Almarus the Divine and the traditions of the Eastern Fold. While unpopular with many of the common people of the Eastern Fold, these laws were met with great enthusiasm by the Church of Io and noblemen realizing the time to create better foreign relations was now. Civil war engulfed Ios in 699- 700 C.E. and Vilarius was one of the first lords to rally to Lord Smetana's call, quickly rallying Almarian troops to invade the Blue Lands ruled by House Sigismund. The invasion met little resistance and when faced with a two front war, House Sigismund offered peace and in the negotiations that followed, Vilarius wrestled control of North Damaar, the Cliffs of Damaar, and Trymar from House Sigismund. Following the civil war, Vilarius was responsable for crowning Lord Smetana as King of Ios during the corination ceremony. During the end of 700 C.E. and into 701 C.E., religious tensions grew between the Church of Ios and the Temple of Nevrikerin. As the Temples control spread into Valenis (the Rikedom), confrintation between Temple and Church members quickly ensued leading to many difficult times and the build up of tension that eventually grew to start influencing political decisions such as the short arrest of Bishop Julianus of the Church, the banishment of Ios worship in Ulfidren and Valenia, and the banishment of Nevrikerin worship in the Riverlands. Reign of the White Lion: 702 C.E. - Present When King Smetana abdicated the throne of Ios in the end of 701 C.E., the Almarus Oath of fealty to the Arnorian Kings was ended and Vilarius withdrew his lands from the Kingdom of Ios and remade the Kingdom of Almarus. A brief period of two years saw the drastic fall of the Kingdom of Ios and tensions rise across the continent, as in 704 C.E., the new Ioian King, Eddard I, was assassinated and the Kingdom of Ios fell apart leaving the Kingdom of Almarus as one of the most stable places on the continent. Vilarius' reign began with heavy tensions between his new Kingdom and Ios before the fall as religion tensions brewed to a stones toss from violence instigated by Church bishops. In 704 C.E., a massive Nilvinarian invasion of the city of Nagrad and the region of Io's Reach forced Vilarius to turn his attention away from the rest of the continent to fight a war that would consume the next four years. The Ellisian War, named after the Nilvinarian King Helith Ellisian, ended in 708 C.E. with the death of King Helith Ellisian at the hands of Aegon Varakar. The war was one of Vilarius' first challenges as ruler of the reborn Kingdom of Almarus and with his victory in the war, the Kingdom quickly began to rebuild. Three weeks folllowing the end of the war, Vilarius was formally crowned King of the Kingdom of Almarus. Not long after the coronation, Vilarius took Ia Varakar as his second wife, the ceremony being the first marriage leading to the acension of an Almarian Queen for centuries. Characteristics Raised mostly by scholars and soldiers due to his mothers death and fathers constent work on running the Eastern Fold, Vilarius grew up to be a bit rough around the edges. Taught from an early age to respect honor, duty, loyalty, tradition, and family, his morales would be considered rather good as he strives to support the Kingdom of Ios as long as its ruler remains just. Overall, he tries to reward the loyalty of his minor lords, looking for those who strive to better the Eastern Fold. While he posseses many good morales and characteristics, the inner workings of his mind can be found to be rather intelectual as constent plans are thought out to detail the course of unraveling events, seeking to find the path that would best benefit his land while holding true to his oaths of feality to the King and his people. While for the most part he maintains a civil and rather well mannered disposition, he can be rather ruthless and cold in both philosophical and actual terms depending on the situation. Due to a rather well built land under his reign, he can be considered one of the richest if not the richest person in the Kingdom of Ios, living in luxary few can imagine, even by the capital of Terminium's standards. While he treats the nobility with respect and honors his oaths of fealty to the crown, Vilarius holds most Arterians in little regard. He has been more tolerant then most of his predecessors in this regard, passing laws to protect their faith, but he does make it abundently clear that he views Arterians as lower class citizens compared to Almarians. This is in part to the rather lengthy and hostile history between the two cultures. With his acension to King of the Kingdom of Almarus, not much changed in his character, upholding his old beliefs to the letter and continuing to support House Arnor as an ally. Battle Equipment Weapons: A straight double bladed longsword forged from the Iron Crag called The Blade of the Ancients, 4.8 ft long/ ''A straight double bladed longsword made from steel deep in the Iron Crag and forged in the fires of Mount Maverian called ''Filoshin, 5 ft long/ A heavy steel halberd with a steel shaft wrapped in fine treated leather passed down since the time of Ulfidren Almarus the Divine, 8 ft long Armor: Highly detailed and decorated Almarian plate steel armor with leather and chain mail underlays, a tall Almarian steel helmet, and velvet sash and white lion pelt worn as a cloak. Pet: A large, fully matured white lion named Atelis standing 63 in at shoulder height, 10 ft in length, and weighing 1,527 lbs. Horse: A black clydesdale standing 72 in and weighing 2,000 lbs named Joan Basic Information Age: 43 Height: 6 Feet (1.8 Meters) Kingdom: Kingdom of Almarus Ancestory: 33rd Descendent of Ulfidren Almarus the Divine Wife: Ia Almarus Children: Hendrikus Cedarian Almarus Titles: King of the Kingdom of Almarus, 34th Ruler of the Easter Fold, Duke of The Rills, Lord Protector of the Nevrikerin Faith Religion: The Temple of Nevrikerin Political Views: Imperialism